Lehigh County man free after sentencing for delivering fatal kick to wife

In a rare display of mercy, family members of a slain Lowhill Township woman filled a courtroom Tuesday and asked a judge to grant the killer — her husband — leniency.

"Our family has suffered enough," said Cathy Boyer, Carol Albright's sister. "We need to heal as a family, and Jim is our family."

Boyer spoke at James Albright's sentencing hearing in Lehigh County Court in Allentown. Albright, 56, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter last month, admitting that he kicked his 54-year-old wife during a fight over her refusal to address her long-term alcoholism.

Judge James T. Anthony sentenced Albright to 12 to 24 months in the county jail and granted him immediate parole. Albright had been behind bars since the April 10, 2013, incident.

"He is punished," said Albright's attorney, James Heidecker. "The punishment he'll endure every day when he wakes up will be more than any sentence he could get here today."

APRIL BARTHOLOMEW, THE MORNING CALL

James Albright of Lowhill Township pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his wife, Carol.

James Albright of Lowhill Township pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his wife, Carol. (APRIL BARTHOLOMEW, THE MORNING CALL)

Carol Albright died from internal bleeding one day after state troopers, responding to a 911 call from the couple's Herber Road home, found her lying in the basement complaining of stomach pain.

Court records say James Albright admitted dragging her into the basement during an argument. He told the troopers that she had agreed to check into a recovery program that day, but then balked at the last minute and cursed at him.

Albright told the troopers that he "lost it," and kicked his wife of 32 years in the back and stomach, court records say. During the fight, he admitted tying her to a support beam in the basement.

Carol Albright was awake when paramedics arrived but her blood pressure began to plummet and she lost consciousness. Surgeons found that she had end-stage liver failure due to cirrhosis, which was interfering with her body's ability to clot.

First Assistant District Attorney Steven Luksa said Carol Albright's medical condition was taken into consideration when his office decided to offer Albright a plea deal to involuntary manslaughter.

Albright in April rejected a plea deal calling for him to plead guilty to third-degree murder and receive a minimum sentence of four years in prison. He had originally been charged with more serious homicide counts.

Albright has no prior record. As part of the sentence, he will be on probation for one year and must abstain from drinking alcohol.

Other family members told the judge that he was a dedicated husband who stood by his wife even as her addiction worsened.

The couple's daughter, Erin Albright, 23, told the judge that she was looking forward to having her father home for the holidays.

"We haven't been able to mourn the loss of my mother together," she said.